Suggestion - Adding a Final, Homely Touch to Housing

Exalted_Goose

Hello, everyone!

Recently, I've gotten back into Housing, and am still really enjoying decorating my cosy, little Cyrodilic Jungle House - I find the whole system to be very easy to use, nicely implemented, and rewarding, (when you take a step back, and admire the, uh, "Excellence...", of your interior design skills...). I'm pretty much at the stage of completion now, and I'm very pleased with how my house looks; the desired, homely visual effect, I think, works well for me, despite my utter lack of competence in the field of decoration, ( ). And no, I'm not going to include screenshots - this isn't what this thread's about, (and besides, I don't want to be laughed at, given that most of the furniture I've used is peasant-tier, cheap stuff! ^^ ).

However, currently, I think that there's one crucial element to the whole Housing system that's missing, and that's the ability to change the music that plays in your house. In my opinion, music is a fundamental component that can really accentuate - even make, or indeed break - an atmosphere in a game, and presently, I think that a lot of opportunity to really nail the desired feeling and ambience of a home is being lost by the default music applied to each available house. For example, I'm hoping to achieve a homely, cosy quality to my home, yet the default music for the Cyrodilic Jungle House, (a piece that plays in Cyrodiil frequently, if I'm not mistaken, which should offer some insight into the miserable-ish, uneasy tone of the music), sounds very sombre, and it doesn't, in my mind, suit the atmosphere that I'm looking to establish. The visual element of my home is there, but it's debilitated by the conflicting default music. Equally, if one wanted to create a genuinely melancholic, evil base of dastardly deeds and malicious mistreatment of helpless prisoners, while the visual element of the house could be achieved, the musical, audible element may be underwhelming.

ESO has such a stunning OST, with many beautiful original pieces and re-interpretations of some of Jeremy Soule's previous works, and I find it a shame that adding a more personal meaning to some of these pieces through Housing is being lost. If there was a menu that allowed you to, perhaps, compile/select a custom/pre-made Playlist that best corresponded with what you really want - drawing from the plenitude of excellent music in this game, (including DLC content) - I think that Housing would be just that little bit better. In the case of my humble, warm little Cyrodilic Jungle House, I would be able to select a piece of music that reflects this intended setting; if I decided to decorate another house in the fashion of something darker, more sinister, I could select music to play that would accentuate this, (such as, for example, the theme of the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary/Dungeon music, etc.). Even just having the ability to choose your music before you start placing furnishings could help you paint the image of your desired ESO home in your head - more so than the current, fixed music for houses.

Of course, this shouldn't be a priority for ZOS - there's a lot of far more important stuff that they should definitely turn their attention to before this - but this is just a fun little idea that, I believe, could enhance the Housing system in this game a little bit more. I feel that it'd enhance immersion, allow a greater depth of personalisation, and really unlock more creativity in the furnishing process, (i.e., listening to music that reflects the intended outcome could help create the envision of such a final product even more). Above all, I'd love to hear what you guys have to say about this idea.

TL;DR - I think that having the option to select the in-game music, (of the ESO Soundtrack), that plays in your house would be rather nice. What are your thoughts?

Many thanks for reading!

ProfesseurFreder

I agree -- but you could've said that in one sentence, you know!

Exalted_Goose

ProfesseurFreder wrote: »

I agree -- but you could've said that in one sentence, you know!

Thanks for the feedback - writing short OPs has never really been something I've been terribly good at... ...I've added a TL;DR, hopefully that conveys what I'd like to say well enough. Thanks for posting!

Megabear

I think you should add a welcome mat.

MehrunesFlagon

Always thought the thing that was missing was a bunch of pot plants outside.

craybest

Oh adding music would be awesome! It would help set up the mood you want.
Also I don't know if it's possible but is there a way to leve a message for other players to read when they enter?

RPGplayer13579

Being able to place our characters in or around our house and have them do a simple task. Cooking, target practice, reading, drinking, sitting, playing music, whatever the devs can think of.

Nyghthowler

MehrunesFlagon wrote: »

Always thought the thing that was missing was a bunch of pot plants outside.

POTTED plants I can do without. POT plants are a definite pls add!

Exalted_Goose

craybest wrote: »

Also I don't know if it's possible but is there a way to leve a message for other players to read when they enter?

That's a really nice idea, very much like a customisable, "Welcome Mat", as others have suggested. I'm not sure if such a system is in the game, currently - I don't think that there is - but I suppose that this could help those not only seeking to just be friendly with their house, (i.e., through leaving a nice, welcome message), but for those seeking to role-play a little with their house, as well. For characters looking to role-play as a character with a tragic back-story, for example: having objects that could be written on would allow for things such as gravestones bearing custom messages, (indicating some horrible misfortune may have happened to them/a loved one previously). Moreover, perhaps having blank books that could be written in may also be a fun little addition to such a system.

Of course, one has to be wary that some players might write some objectionable stuff through such a system, but, then again, I suppose that the same goes for chat windows; there's a report system, as well, which should also offer some kind of deterrent for writing unpleasant things. All the same, this is a very good idea indeed - thanks for posting!

RPGplayer13579 wrote: »

Being able to place our characters in or around our house and have them do a simple task. Cooking, target practice, reading, drinking, sitting, playing music, whatever the devs can think of.

I'd quite like to see a system through which objects in houses offer more interactivity. For instance, if you decide to mount shelves/wall hangings in your house, I think that having a little synergy that allows you to do some dusting, or something else that may happen when an individual stands near a shelf, ( ), could be an interesting little touch. Equally, if there's a wood-chopping block, a well, or any other such utility in a house, corresponding synergies that animate your character to interact with these objects could make Housing more believable and interesting - for RP'ers, and also players just looking to mess around with friends and/or Guildmates, (a little novelty like this could be entertaining - who knows? ^^ ).

You're very right in pointing out that, essentially, such systems are really only limited by the imaginations of the developers. Thanks for posting!

kargen27

Exalted_Goose wrote: »

craybest wrote: »

Also I don't know if it's possible but is there a way to leve a message for other players to read when they enter?

That's a really nice idea, very much like a customisable, "Welcome Mat", as others have suggested. I'm not sure if such a system is in the game, currently - I don't think that there is - but I suppose that this could help those not only seeking to just be friendly with their house, (i.e., through leaving a nice, welcome message), but for those seeking to role-play a little with their house, as well. For characters looking to role-play as a character with a tragic back-story, for example: having objects that could be written on would allow for things such as gravestones bearing custom messages, (indicating some horrible misfortune may have happened to them/a loved one previously). Moreover, perhaps having blank books that could be written in may also be a fun little addition to such a system.

Of course, one has to be wary that some players might write some objectionable stuff through such a system, but, then again, I suppose that the same goes for chat windows; there's a report system, as well, which should also offer some kind of deterrent for writing unpleasant things. All the same, this is a very good idea indeed - thanks for posting!

RPGplayer13579 wrote: »

Being able to place our characters in or around our house and have them do a simple task. Cooking, target practice, reading, drinking, sitting, playing music, whatever the devs can think of.

I'd quite like to see a system through which objects in houses offer more interactivity. For instance, if you decide to mount shelves/wall hangings in your house, I think that having a little synergy that allows you to do some dusting, or something else that may happen when an individual stands near a shelf, ( ), could be an interesting little touch. Equally, if there's a wood-chopping block, a well, or any other such utility in a house, corresponding synergies that animate your character to interact with these objects could make Housing more believable and interesting - for RP'ers, and also players just looking to mess around with friends and/or Guildmates, (a little novelty like this could be entertaining - who knows? ^^ ).

You're very right in pointing out that, essentially, such systems are really only limited by the imaginations of the developers. Thanks for posting!

A guest book people where people can leave a quick comment could be a good thing. I like to randomly visit guild mates homes and sometimes send messages commenting on something in their home and people seem to appreciate that I took the time to comment.

dodgehopper_ESO

I want to be able to inject npc's into my home, whether it be farmers, workmen, chefs, BARDS, and so forth.